Search for a command to run...
This report examines the Allied C-Doppelstander, a swallow-tailed control flag used on German merchant vessels during the Allied occupation following the Second World War. Drawing on surviving physical examples, photographic documentation, and Allied Control Council regulations, the study demonstrates that the flag’s geometry corresponds to the International Code of Signals flag “C”, which typically follows an approximate 5:6 proportion. Surviving examples consistently reflect this signal-flag geometry rather than the 2:3 or 3:5 proportions commonly cited in existing literature, suggesting that the occupation flag was derived directly from a standard maritime signal flag rather than newly designed. The report also identifies a discrepancy between regulatory illustrations and physical evidence: while Allied Control Council documentation depicts a 90° tail cut, surviving flags show a significantly wider swallow-tail angle of roughly 110°, consistent with traditional maritime signal-flag construction. Archival signal documentation further indicates that the use of signal flag “C” as a control identifier may have originated earlier during wartime Allied signalling procedures. Taken together, the evidence suggests that the C-Doppelstander should be understood as an operational modification of the International Code of Signals flag “C” rather than a newly designed occupation ensign. The flag is also referenced in literature and archival material as the German occupation flag, Allied control flag, C-pennant, or Erkennungsflagge für deutsche Handelsschiffe.